The Information's 411

The Information

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A weekly podcast brought to you by The Information, a subscription tech news site doing deep dives and investigative looks at the tech and media industries. Each episode highlights some of the major happenings in tech business world, featuring the re...Show More

Ashley talks about Trump's social media bias survey and tech's tough week in DC. Aaron dives into Apple's relationship with Intel and Qualcomm over modems and the future of how it sources wireless components.

Zoë talks about the allegations of harassment against the CEO of Intercom and what the culture of partying means for women in the tech industry. Jessica Lessin discusses Uber's underwhelming IPO and the implications of a Facebook co-founder suggestin...Show More

Jessica Toonkel talks about AT&T's struggles to turn its advertising unit, Xandr, into an advertising powerhouse capable of challenging the big digital companies. Kevin discusses Apple and how its scaled back its reliance on AWS.

Jessica Toonkel and Beejoli Shah join to discuss all the goings on in media, including Apple's upcoming TV release, the turmoil at WarnerMedia and the outcome of Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox's assets.

Jessica Toonkel talks about the huge day at WarnerMedia where two top executives left as the company finally integrates with AT&T. Kevin explains the reasons that companies have major cost overages with cloud providers.

Zoë and Reed talk about Mamoon Hamid, the venture capitalist tasked with turning around Kleiner Perkins. Martin explains the math Disney and other media companies have to do as they go into the streaming business.

Juro describes the rise of fall of Chinese bike rental company Ofo. Jessica speaks to IBM researcher Noam Slonim about the company's AI debate master in a preview of the IBM Think conference next week.

Priya speaks with Tom about his breakdown of Disney's streaming organization. Nick talks about how Microsoft's CEO is staying away from the squabbles between Apple Facebook and Google over data privacy.

Aaron dissects Apple's warning that its first-quarter results will be lower than it expected. Priya discusses the hopes and prospects of the online grocery delivery startup Good Eggs against larger competitors.

Amir explains how a whistleblower at Uber warned about the problems with their self-driving cars before the deadly collision in Arizona. Priya talks about how AWS's promise to use only renewable energy for its data centers has hit some speed bumps.

Jessica talks about how the business models for news have shifted since The Information launched in 2013. Juro gives us the context behind the recent arrest of Huawei's CFO and what the move means for relations between the US and China.

Cory hosts this week and talks to Tom about Snap and how Evan Spiegel's longterm vision for the company is running up against its near-term realities. Aaron talks about how Apple is thinking about widening distribution for its TV service.

Jon joins to talk about the drama with Bitcoin Cash and why the SEC is stepping up its investigations of the sector. Aaron explains why Apple's margins on iPhones are going down even if the phone prices are going up.

Matt Drange talks about why the Northern District US Attorney's office hasn't been bringing many cases against Silicon Valley firms. Priya explains how Amazon tells workers to deal with questions about Trump.

Juro talks about how apps with smaller audiences could reshape the social media landscape in China. Nick talks about PAX Labs and its plans to make the public markets comfortable with its business of selling cannabis vaping devices.

Sarah joins to talk about Facebook's organization and why so many executives have been exiting the campus (or plan to). Kevin reveals why Alibaba has temporarily backed off on its ambitions to dominate the cloud market in the US.

Cory discusses his reporting on the troubles at construction startup Katerra. He also explains why Airbnb's rental inventory has been shifting toward year-round rentals. Amir talks about the drama at Zoox, which recently ousted its CEO.

Wayne talks about his feature on the culture clashes between Riot Games and its owner Tencent. Matt explains why government agencies are doing a poor job tracking accident data involving self-driving technology.

Sarah and Martin explain why Facebook and Twitter's earnings set off a panic from investors, even if it wasn't warranted. Nick reflects on his interview with Steve Jobs, which took place a decade ago at the dawn of the app store.

Priya talks about the incremental movements toward an antitrust case against Amazon. Also we discuss why Walmart is thinking about building a competitors to Amazon Prime Video. Matt Pressberg dives into the stalled negotiations between Hollywood and ...Show More

Jessica checks in from Sun Valley to give an inside look at what media moguls are talking about. Amir explains why self-driving truck technology is back in fashion. Alfred talks about why companies' delaying their IPOs could come back to haunt employ...Show More

Sarah Kuranda talks about how you may soon be talking to Google's Duplex when you dial a call center. Then Priya explains why new retail brands are choosing Instagram over Amazon and how Instagram could become a bigger player in ecommerce.

Jessica Toonkel talks about Apple's plans to create a super bundle of its content and whether that will be appealing to most people. Then she and Tom talk about Snap's plans to launch a gaming platform.

Jessica Toonkel talks about what the media landscape will look like after ATT won a decisive victory over the DOJ and has officially acquired Time Warner. Priya recaps her interview with the CEO of Poshmark and why its built up an online fashion mark...Show More

Tom and Cory talk about how Evan Spiegel rammed through Snap's disastrous redesign and the state the company is in now. Also Cory dives into the role tech money is playing in the San Francisco mayoral race.

Juro talks about his story about how the ride-hailing market in Brazil turned into a proxy war between Didi and Uber. Alfred explores the bank in San Diego that's at the center of the cryptocurrency market.

Kevin talks about the challenges for DeepMind as it integrated into Alphabet and the conflicts it had with Google's other AI team, Google Brain. Amir dives into the electric scooter frenzy and why these devices are running straight into a regulatory ...Show More

Jessica and Cory talk about Facebook's big week as Mark Zuckerberg faced questions from Congress. Sarah explained how a conman tricked a cybersecurity company to hire him as a top human resources executive.

At the Pack Theater in Hollywood, we talked to journalist Richard Rushfield about his industry newsletter The Ankler and whether it is better or worse to work in Hollywood now than a few decades ago. We also spoke with Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, ...Show More

Jessica talks about how Facebook's 2007 decision to launch an open platform led to the current crisis. Serena reflects on her conversation with Shawn Carolan of Menlo Ventures and why it was a rare candid interview in Silicon Valley.

Aaron talks about the ballad of Siri within Apple and why it fell so far behind Google and Amazon. Amir talks about why self driving car technology is a long way away from being able to navigate cities.

Jessica runs down the reasons why media companies are investing less in tech. Priya talks about the battle between Amazon and Instacart over grocery deliveries. Tom analyzes Evan Spiegel's quixotic mission to make Snap break even.

Hans Tung and Zara Zhang of GGV Capital join to talk about how China's tech industry is influencing Silicon Valley. Juro talks about how WeChat is embracing (and resisting) change to their business, including more advertising.
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Kevin talks about why AWS is planning to build "no-code" capabilities into its services to attract a different type of customer. Alfred calls in to talk about the problem of investors that serve on too many boards.
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Amir and Aaron check in from CES. Jessica talks about Facebook's revamp of News Feed and why IPOs are less important in tech then they used to be. Juro explains how the deal between AT&T and Huawei fell apart.

In the first podcast of the new year, Kevin talks about how Amazon and Salesforce have been quietly making moves to get off Oracle. Sarah Kuranda makes her podcast debut along with Aaron Tilley to talk about the serious security flaw in Intel's chips...Show More

Reed discusses the culture at Google and how several top executives freely engaged in romantic relationships with their subordinates. Also Cory joins to announce our first ever live podcast taping Dec. 18 in San Francisco.

Priya explains how Walmart and Amazon try to manage inventory in retails stores and what that means for Whole Foods. Kevin talks about the legacy of Meg Whitman at HP. Tom talks about how Snap's product changes will affect influencers and publishers.

Kevin talks about why Docker is finally jumping on board the hottest trend in cloud technology and Cory discusses the internal deliberations at Sidewalk Labs about which city it should use as its test bed.

Jessica talks about the similarities in the power dynamics in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, leading to sexual harassment scandals in both industries. Serena breaks down the latest hurdles in the Softbank-Uber deal.

Priya talks about Amazon's open competition over where it will locate its second headquarters. Then Cory and Kevin discuss the future of meal delivery companies and why, in the battle over data center operating systems, Mesosphere surrendered to Kube...Show More

Alfred and Tom explain how Snap's sinking share price has a few early employees seeing big returns on their equity, while the vast majority are not. Then they talk about how online lending startup Prosper saw its valuation tumble over the last year.

Jessica returns to the podcast to talk about the (non) relationship between Silicon Valley and DC. And Kevin talks about Google's moves in Southeast Asia and Tom's story about the future of sports media.

Alfred talks about why some early investors in Fitbit held too long after it went public and what that could foretell with Snap. Cory explains how Facebook is trying to fix Instant Articles to get publishers back on board. Plus, Sam plugs his new pod...Show More

Kevin explains how IBM uses Watson's consumer brand to sell to enterprises. Juro makes his first appearance on the podcast to discuss the big funding plans for Alibaba's Ant Financial as well as Huawei's narrowing profits on smartphones.

Alfred talks about why investors can't buy Snap shares on the secondary market. Reed and Tom discuss which VR headsets have sold the most this year and why VCs have avoided investing in conservative sites.

Reed and Amir discuss what a Trump presidency could mean for tech, from immigration to jobs to influence in Washington. Then Jessica argues why Facebook shouldn't step in to stop the spread of fake news articles.

Amir talks about his profile of Ed Baker, the man behind Uber's growth efforts. Then Amir and Tom talk about the possibility of Amazon offering broadband in Europe and its growing ambitions with Prime Video.

Kevin and Jessica talk about the difficulties facing Google Fiber and why its made cutbacks. Also, Jessica argues why the Uber vs Lyft storyline doesn't make sense anymore. And Tom reflects on year one of the podcast.

Jessica, Reed and Tom talk about why journalists are not the ones responsible for invasions of privacy, despite what Peter Thiel claims. They also discuss Snapchat's acquisition of Vurb and the role of eye-tracking technology in VR. Plus: the tech an...Show More

In this week’s podcast, Amir talks about the implications for the global ride-sharing market of Didi Chuxing purchase of Uber’s Chinese operations. Yunan discusses the rude awakening that Uber’s roughly 800 employees in China got when they came to wo...Show More

Jessica explains why Yahoo can't be turned around, even within Verizon and under Tim Armstrong. Cory talks about why some media companies are disillusioned with live video on Facebook. Tom explains why Snapchat's camera section is its future.

Jessica explains why she's not sold on the augmented reality in Pokemon GO, or smartphones generally. Cory and Yunan delve into the headwinds for WeWork both in the US and in China. And Alfred lays out the trends in private tech financing.

In this week’s podcast, Reed unpacks the proposal by Elon “Nerd Jesus” Musk to combine Tesla Motors and SolarCity. Cory explains why Facebook’s Live Video platform is being dominated by celebrities rather than news outlets and how the social networki...Show More

Amir discusses Apple’s performance at its annual World Wide Developer Conference and Amazon’s ambitious plans for its Echo voice-activated speaker. Steve mulls why Microsoft might have a tough time adding LinkedIn to its professional network. And Cor...Show More

Amir and Reed debate the uproar over Peter Thiel bankrolling the Gawker lawsuit. Also we discuss the self-driving car startup ecosystem and Apple's decision to open up Siri and develop an Amazon Echo competitor.

Stephen and Martin talk about their conversation with Janus Global Technology Fund and why they think the private tech markets are overpriced. Then Tom and Martin argue about whether there's consumer demand for more digital video.

Cory joins as co-host and we talk about why people in San Francisco's city government are addicted to encrypted messaging app Telegram. Tom explains why Snapchat's vesting schedule isn't exactly employee friendly.

Stephen came back from Seattle to talk about the wonders of Amazon's retail store and how it serves its data gathering needs. Tom delves into Verizon's big spending ways for go90 and the company's hopes of succeeding with it.

Steve explains how the tanking of subscription software companies on the public markets has caused investors to reexamine private company valuations. Cory talks about Mobile World Congress. And we all talk Apple's privacy stance.

Alfred sheds some light on how mutual funds and other big investors really come up with their valuations for private tech companies. And Cory talks about the shift in Silicon Valley talent away from startups and toward the behemoths like Facebook and...Show More

Stephen talks about Github and the internal fight between people pushing for more enterprise clients and those loyal to the developer-centric mindset. Amir talks about what works and what doesn't in Twitter's ad business.

Jessica talks about down rounds and why even an "employee friendly" one is still bad news for employees with equity. Tom talks about Snapchat's app install ads, and Reed discusses the "ticking time bomb" of 409A valuations.

It was a bad week for the markets. and tech stocks were hurt in particular. Reed joined to run down what Twitter's tanking stock really means. Amir delved into Uber's race for second in China and Cory makes his solo podcast debut to talk about how Fa...Show More

First podcast after the break brings on Jessica to talk about the gender diversity problem in tech (and beyond). Reed talks about our Insider List and the widespread nature of executive investments in tech. And Amir goes deep into the war games the F...Show More

Jessica explains why even after Marissa Mayer leaves Yahoo, we won't have seen the last of her. Tom dives into why Buzzfeed's rise in video ads will be difficult. Then the two predict the future of online media companies.

Stephen Nellis talks about our latest subscriber survey and why Information readers aren't big adopters of the Internet of Things. Then Alfred Lee calls in to talk about supervotes and how founders and insiders at private tech companies demand nearl...Show More

Stephen Nellis takes over hosting duties for the week. He talks to intern Sam Lessin about why it's so hard for tech companies to rebound from major struggles. Then Amir joins to talk about the future of Android phones as well as Square's S-1.

Pete Schultz, an Information engineer, makes his debut on the podcast to talk about the Future List and our story about investor diversity in tech. Then Amir joins to talk about his interview with the founders of Airbnb and Zenefits, as well as a dis...Show More

It's a Twitter and Snapchat double-feature as Jessica Lessin, The Information's editor-in-chief, sits down to talk about Jack Dorsey's soon to be official announcement as "permanent" Twitter CEO. Then she asks Tom about Snapchat's Chief Strategy Offi...Show More

Amir Efrati drops by the studio to talk about his deep look at Thuan Pham, the CTO of Uber and how he's trying to shape up the engineering team there, which is faced with serious technical problems. Also the ethics of ad blocking

Ace enterprise reporter Stephen Nellis joins in as co-host to talk about Dreamforce and the future of Salesforce. Why does the company care about the Internet of Things? Will Salesforce build more products internally? Then the roles switch up as Step...Show More

We go long on two segments this week. The first is a debate between Jessica Lessin and Frank Shaw who heads up communications at Microsoft over the nature of on background conversations. Jessica said companies demand it too frequently, Frank says bac...Show More

A podcast by tech and digital media news site, The Information, featuring the site's reporters talking about the news of the week. This episode Is about co-working space provider WeWork, the company's ambitious revenue projections to investors and wh...Show More

First episode of The Information's 411. A podcast by tech and digital media news site, The Information, featuring the site's reporters talking about the news they covered during the week. This episode we talk about private market volatility, "Input z...Show More